Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


Rmani

277 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified
Lifetime subscriber

#264332 16-Jan-2020 18:28
Send private message

Have friends working there, few were worried about this.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/westpac-forcing-250-wellington-workers-to-relocate-or-take-redundancy/ar-BBZ0h2O

 

PS: Not sure if this is the right forum, if not, moderators please move it to the right forum.





Rmani


View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic
 1 | 2
Dynamic
3836 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2400180 16-Jan-2020 19:28
Send private message

It's nice they are offering to pay relocation costs and giving plenty of notice, but a shame we don't have any spare houses up here!

 

I'd really have thought that splitting resources across two offices for Disaster Recovery reasons would have been worthwhile.





“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

 

Referral links to services I use, really like, and may be rewarded if you sign up:
PocketSmith for budgeting and personal finance management.  A great Kiwi company.




wellygary
8261 posts

Uber Geek


  #2400228 16-Jan-2020 19:46
Send private message

Dynamic:

 

It's nice they are offering to pay relocation costs and giving plenty of notice, but a shame we don't have any spare houses up here!

 

 

Rent in Welly is now comparable, if not even higher than in Auckland,  so it certainly not like 10 years ago when people would have been demanding salary increases to deal with the higher living costs...

 

 


kendog
325 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #2400229 16-Jan-2020 19:47
Send private message

This is pretty big news.

Will the other banks start to follow?



tardtasticx
3075 posts

Uber Geek


  #2400231 16-Jan-2020 19:53
Send private message

Would be interesting to see what percentage of their head office workforce this affects, would be a decent chunk I would think.
One of the other big 4 is trying to get more of the IT crew into Auckland as well, though not as drastically as this. 

 

In terms of housing, I think Auckland and Wellington are both lacking if I'm not mistaken? Pretty expensive in both centres unfortunately so that probably isn't helping those employees making a decision. 


alasta
6687 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Subscriber

  #2400233 16-Jan-2020 19:57
Send private message

They should be moving jobs to places like Christchurch and Palmerston North where housing is much cheaper.


BlakJak
1249 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2400246 16-Jan-2020 20:35
Send private message

I expect they're moving employees, not employers. ;-)

 

 

I'd have thought large organisations with offices in multiple cities should be seeking to retain diversity, both for BCDR purposes and to ensure they have access to the talent pools in both cities. Wellington has a vibrant IT community, why eliminate it from future recruitment pooling?

 

 

I'm disappointed for Westpac IT.

 

It's one thing to prefer to hire roles into one centre or the other, but it's quite another to create a move-or-be-made-redundant situation for potentially long-serving staff.




No signature to see here, move along...

timmmay
20507 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2400251 16-Jan-2020 20:44
Send private message

Having work in agile teams that are co-located in one office, and teams that are spread across the country, my opinion is co-locating teams is critical to high performance. Co-locating agile teams is a key Microsoft recommendation for development teams.

 

Having multiple locations is useful for BCP, but most large modern companies have multiple data centers and can leverage cloud to some extent, and they have really effective systems to allow people to work remotely. In a disaster people can work from home, or from hubs they set up for that purpose.


 
 
 

Shop now on Mighty Ape (affiliate link).
Handsomedan
7224 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted
Subscriber

  #2400757 17-Jan-2020 14:14
Send private message

I have seen this coming for a number of years. 

 

Westpac's head office is no longer wellington and the majority of their resources now operate out of Auckland. 

 

The interesting thing will be where they move them to...Takutai Square is full. 97 Queen is not ideal and probably doesn't have capacity - do they move them to the outer suburbs in an industrial area like Albany or Manukau? 

 

 

 

Giving them 12 months to think about it gives them time to build/fit-out/rent space, I guess...





Handsome Dan Has Spoken.
Handsome Dan needs to stop adding three dots to every sentence...

 

Handsome Dan does not currently have a side hustle as the mascot for Yale 

 

 

 

*Gladly accepting donations...


sbiddle
30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Biddle Corp
Lifetime subscriber

  #2400759 17-Jan-2020 14:22
Send private message

Knowing people there I'd say this is a pretty major failing in some respects. Significant numbers of people not moving to Auckland has the potential to result in a pretty major loss of knowledge within the organisation.

 

Both Spark and Vodafone have struck similar issues over recent years where those jumping for voluntary redundancies has resulted in massive losses within the organisation without them really comprehending this at the time.

 

 


Rmani

277 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified
Lifetime subscriber

  #2400760 17-Jan-2020 14:23
Send private message

Looks like the employees have to confirm their choice by April and rel-locate around August





Rmani


BlakJak
1249 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2400808 17-Jan-2020 15:38
Send private message

Handsomedan:

 

I have seen this coming for a number of years. 

 

Westpac's head office is no longer wellington and the majority of their resources now operate out of Auckland. 

 

The interesting thing will be where they move them to...Takutai Square is full. 97 Queen is not ideal and probably doesn't have capacity - do they move them to the outer suburbs in an industrial area like Albany or Manukau? 

 

 

 

Giving them 12 months to think about it gives them time to build/fit-out/rent space, I guess...

 

 

 

 

"The bank said the decision was motivated by a new opportunity to acquire more floor space at the bank's headquarters in Auckland's Britomart precinct."

 

I actually read the article...





No signature to see here, move along...

alasta
6687 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Subscriber

  #2400825 17-Jan-2020 15:40
Send private message

sbiddle:

 

Knowing people there I'd say this is a pretty major failing in some respects. Significant numbers of people not moving to Auckland has the potential to result in a pretty major loss of knowledge within the organisation.

 

Both Spark and Vodafone have struck similar issues over recent years where those jumping for voluntary redundancies has resulted in massive losses within the organisation without them really comprehending this at the time.

 

 

What these companies seem to struggle to understand is that for most mature people it is easier to find another job than to uplift your entire life and move to another city. 


sbiddle
30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Biddle Corp
Lifetime subscriber

  #2400828 17-Jan-2020 15:43
Send private message

alasta:

 

sbiddle:

 

Knowing people there I'd say this is a pretty major failing in some respects. Significant numbers of people not moving to Auckland has the potential to result in a pretty major loss of knowledge within the organisation.

 

Both Spark and Vodafone have struck similar issues over recent years where those jumping for voluntary redundancies has resulted in massive losses within the organisation without them really comprehending this at the time.

 

 

What these companies seem to struggle to understand is that for most mature people it is easier to find another job than to uplift your entire life and move to another city. 

 

 

Especially when that city is Auckland.


timmmay
20507 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2400830 17-Jan-2020 15:47
Send private message

They probably do realise, but the value of having everyone in one location probably outweighs the inconvenience and new hires required.


BlakJak
1249 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2400836 17-Jan-2020 15:53
Send private message

timmmay:

 

They probably do realise, but the value of having everyone in one location probably outweighs the inconvenience and new hires required.

 

 

Yep. Commercial realities not limited by particular employees.
Sad but true.





No signature to see here, move along...

 1 | 2
View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic





News and reviews »

Logitech G522 Gaming Headset Review
Posted 18-Jun-2025 17:00


Māori Artists Launch Design Collection with Cricut ahead of Matariki Day
Posted 15-Jun-2025 11:19


LG Launches Upgraded webOS Hub With Advanced AI
Posted 15-Jun-2025 11:13


One NZ Satellite IoT goes live for customers
Posted 15-Jun-2025 11:10


Bolt Launches in New Zealand
Posted 11-Jun-2025 00:00


Suunto Run Review
Posted 10-Jun-2025 10:44


Freeview Satellite TV Brings HD Viewing to More New Zealanders
Posted 5-Jun-2025 11:50


HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14-inch Review
Posted 3-Jun-2025 14:40


Flip Phones Are Back as HMD Reimagines an Iconic Style
Posted 30-May-2025 17:06


Hundreds of School Students Receive Laptops Through Spark Partnership With Quadrent's Green Lease
Posted 30-May-2025 16:57


AI Report Reveals Trust Is Key to Unlocking Its Potential in Aotearoa
Posted 30-May-2025 16:55


Galaxy Tab S10 FE Series Brings Intelligent Experiences to the Forefront with Premium, Versatile Design
Posted 30-May-2025 16:14


New OPPO Watch X2 Launches in New Zealand
Posted 29-May-2025 16:08


Synology Premiers a New Lineup of Advanced Data Management Solutions
Posted 29-May-2025 16:04


Dyson Launches Its Slimmest Vaccum Cleaner PencilVac
Posted 29-May-2025 15:50









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.